Everything We Know About Eddie Murphy’s 9 Children and the One On the Way

Eddie Murphy is known for his big comedy, big paychecks, and big personality. Some of the lesser-known details of his life are his big family — the star is the father of nine children, soon to be 10. Murphy has nine children ages two to 28, not including the baby he has on the way with girlfriend Paige Butcher.

Eric and Christian Murphy are his oldest sons

Eddie had his first child, his son Eric (28), in 1989 with his girlfriend at the time, Paulette McNeely. Eric leads a relatively private life but is reportedly close to his second son, Christian (26), who Eddie had two years later with then-girlfriend Tamara Hood.

While Eric stays off-the-radar for the most part, Christian acted in a few feature films from 2002 to 2011 including Cougars Inc., The Shield, and Love Cures Cancer: Take a Chance on Love II.

He married Nicole Mitchell, the future mother of five of his children, in 1993

Nicole Mitchell Murphy took Eddie’s last name in 1993, however, they first met in 1988 and reportedly dated on and off before marrying. The lived together for almost two years before they wed and had their first child, Bria Murphy (28), in 1989. Bria is an actress and the co-founder of ArtUs, an online gallery based in Los Angeles, California. While she’s known for her roles in the films The Perfect Match and Amateur Night, Eddie has spoken out most about her talent as an artist.

“I’m glad that people get to see how talented she is,” Eddie said at Bria’s 2016 art show. “We’ve known for years how talented she is. It’s exciting to see her stuff up on the walls… I’m having all of those proud parent feelings.”

Nicole and Eddie had five children together in total: Bria, Myles (25), Shayne (23), Zola (18), and Bella (16).

Bria, Shayne, and Zola all attended the Women of Excellence Awards Gala in LA with their mother, Nicole, in 2017. Bella, the youngest child from Eddie and Nicole’s marriage, seems to be living as normal a teenage life as the daughter of a comedy legend can. She recently celebrated her 16th birthday with a 70’s themed party attended by her close family and friends.

“Happy Birthday to my beautiful Bella who is 16 years old today. You’re such a beautiful & smart young lady. I’m so proud of you. I love you so much,” Nicole wrote on her Instagram page.

Eddie had one child, Angel, with former Spice Girl Mel B

Eddie and Nicole divorced in 2006. Nicole was the one to file the divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Eddie began dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, known as Mel B, shortly after. She became pregnant soon after and became one of Eddie’s highest profile relationships. Brown later disclosed how the media influenced her pregnancy on her reality show Mel B: It’s a Scary World.

Eddie claimed he didn’t know “whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test,” when questioned about the pregnancy. Melanie Brown gave birth to daughter Angel Brown on Eddie’s 46th birthday (April 3, 2007). Brown’s representatives released confirmation that Eddie was indeed Angel’s father through People two months later.

While Brown and various publications have reported that Murphy wants “nothing to do” with his daughter, it was reported in 2010 that he was spending more time with Angel.

Eddie will now have two children with model Paige Butcher

Eddie Murphy and girlfriend Paige Butcher attend the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers | Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Eddie exchanged vows with film producer Tracey Edmonds on New Year’s Day, 2008, however, the two announced two weeks later they found it “not necessary to define [the] relationship further” with a legal ceremony.

After Eddie and Edmonds ended their relationship, the comedian began dating model Paige Butcher. The two announced Butcher was pregnant in 2015 and she gave birth to their first child, Izzy Oona Murphy, on May 3, 2016. The couple just announced that Butcher is pregnant with their second child in August 2018.

When Rolling Stone mentioned Eddie’s reclusive nature in 2011, the relatively secretive actor disclosed how he feels about his career path as well as his children.

“My whole shit revolves around having this peace of mind. It’s peaceful, quiet, that’s my day-to-day. I play my guitar, hang out with my girl. My kids went to their mom’s this week. I’m chilling, no stress. After all these years, I’ve done well and I’m cool. I feel comfortable in my skin, I’ve saved some paper, everybody’s healthy, my kids are beautiful and smart, doing different things, it’s all good. I’m trying to maintain my shit like this, and do a fun project every now and then.”